Not quite minimal pairs
In English there are many words that when only one letter is added or changed (an orthographic minimal pair) two or more sounds are modified. These are a special kind of nasty neighbors. Changing or adding a consonant also changes a vowel *amber /ˈæmbər/ - chamber /ˈtʃeɪmbər/ *anger /ˈæŋɡər/ - danger /ˈdeɪndʒər/ *cook /kʊk/ - cool /cuːl/ *crow /krəʊ/ - crowd /kraʊd/, crown /kraʊn/ *desert /ˈd zərt/ - dessert /dɪˈzɜːrt/ (note that the verb desert is also pronounced /dɪˈzɜːrt/) *doll /dɒl/ - roll /rəʊl/ *ear /ɪər/ - earn /ɜːrn/ *father /ˈfɑːðər/ - gather /ˈɡæðər/, rather /ˈræðər/ *foot /fʊt/ - food /fuːd/ * leader /liːdər/ - header /h dər/ *limb /lɪm/ - climb /klaɪm/ *owl /aʊl/ - bowl /bəʊl/ *paid /peɪd/ - said /s d/ *pint /paɪnt/ – print /prɪnt/ *say /seɪ/ - says /s z/ This situation is common when the vowel is "o" and the new consonant is "m", "n", "v" or "w". See Decoding and spelling exercises: "o" adjacent to "m", "n", "v" or "w". *along /əˈlɒŋ, əˈlɔːŋ / - among /əˈmʌŋ/ *bother /ˈbɒðər/ - mother /ˈmʌðər/ *cone /kəʊn/ - come /kʌm/ *globe /gləʊb/ - glove /glʌv/ *love /lʌv/ - move /muːv/ *open /ˈəʊpən/ - oven /ˈʌvən/ *ponder ˈpɒndər/ - wonder /ˈwʌndər/ *pork /pɔːrk/ - work /wɜːrk/ Sometimes another consonant is changed and the "o" also changes. *bother /ˈbɒðər/ - other /ˈʌðər/ *one /wʌn/ - bone /bəʊn/ *word /wɜːrd/ - sword /sɔːrd/ Changing or adding a consonant also changes another consonant *finger /ˈfɪŋɡər/ - singer /ˈsɪŋər/ Changing or adding a consonant also changes a vowel and another consonant *house /haʊs/ - houses / haʊzɪz/ Changing or adding a vowel also changes a consonant *bath /bɑːθ, bæθ / - bathe /beɪð/ *breath /br θ/ - breathe /briːð/ *cloth /klɒθ, klɔːθ / - clothe /kləʊð/ Changing or adding a vowel also changes another vowel *onion /ˈʌnjən/ - union /ˈjuːniːən/ Irregular plurals Some words ending in /θ/ have a plural ending in /ðz/. *bath /bɑːθ, bæθ /- baths /bɑːðz, bæðz / *mouth /maʊθ/ - mouths /maʊðz/ *path /pɑːθ, pæθ /- paths /pɑːðz, pæðz / *youth /juːθ/ - youths /juːðz/ Some words derived from Greek have an irregular plural. Two sounds are changed but only one letter. *axis /ˈæksɪs/ - axes /ˈæksiːz/ *thesis /ˈθiːsɪs/ - theses /ˈθiːsiːz/ Irregular past tense *deal /diːl/ - dealt /d lt/ *dream /driːm/ - dreamt /dr mt/ *hear /hɪər/ - heard /hɜːrd/ *lean /liːn/ - leant /l nt/ *mean /miːn/ - meant /m nt/ Standard changes In the following cases there is a regular rule that explains that changing one letter changes two sounds. Regular past tense pronunciation Some verbs ending in "te" or "de" have their silent e become sounded in the past tense. * include /ɪnˈkluːd/ - included /ɪnˈkluːdɪd/ * note /nəʊt/ - noted /ˈnəʊtɪd/ * provide /prəˈvaɪd/ - provided /prəˈvaɪdɪd/ * state /steɪt/ - stated /ˈsteɪtɪd/ Regular past tense sounds /d/ in some cases and /t/ in others. *formed /fɔːrmd/ - forced /fɔːrst/ Regular plural and third person See Pronunciation of the morpheme “-s”. Some nouns ending in silent e have the e sounded in the plural. The same is true for the third person of some verbs. */s/: case /keɪs/ - cases /ˈkeɪsɪz/ */z/: freeze /friːz/ - freezes /ˈfriːzɪz/ */dʒ/: bridge /brɪdʒ/ - bridges /ˈbrɪdʒɪz/ */ʃ/: cache /kæʃ/ - caches /ˈkæʃɪz/ */ʒ/ (or /dʒ/): garage - garages /ˈɡærɑːʒ, ˈɡærɑːʒɪz/, /ɡəˈrɑːʒ, ɡəˈrɑːʒɪz/; also /ˈɡærɑːdʒ, ˈɡærɑːdʒɪz/, ˈɡærɪdʒɪz/ and ɡəˈrɑːdʒɪz/ Changing or adding a vowel also changes a consonant C and G normally have a sound before A, O and U and another before E and I. ;C *call /kɔːl/ - cell /s l/ ;G *gene /dʒiːn/ - gone /ɡɒn, ɡɔːn / Changing a consonant to an R also changes the vowel *cat /kæt/ - car /kɑːr/ *deal /diːl/ - dear /dɪər/ *fail /feɪl/ - fair /f r/ *film /fɪlm/ - firm /fɜːrm/ *fine /faɪn/ - fire /ˈfaɪər/ See also *Decoding the letter R Category:Pronunciation